Borderlands (film)

For the video game, see Borderlands.

Borderlands is an American science fiction action comedy film based on Gearbox Software's Borderlands series. The movie is directed by Eli Roth, based on a screenplay written by Eli Roth and Joe Crombie. The film had its world premiere in Los Angeles on August 6, 2024, was released in theaters in the United States on August 9, and became available on streaming August 30th.

The movie's continuity is independent from the games.^[1]

Official Synopsis[]

Lilith, an infamous bounty hunter with a mysterious past, reluctantly returns to her home, Pandora, the most chaotic planet in the galaxy. Her mission is to find the missing daughter of Atlas, the universe’s most powerful S.O.B.

Lilith forms an unexpected alliance with a ragtag team of misfits – Roland, a seasoned mercenary on a mission; Tiny Tina, a feral pre-teen demolitionist; Krieg, Tina’s musclebound protector; Tannis, the oddball scientist who’s seen it all; and Claptrap, a wiseass robot. Together, these unlikely heroes must battle an alien species and dangerous bandits to uncover one of Pandora’s most explosive secrets. The fate of the universe could be in their hands – but they’ll be fighting for something more: each other. Based on one of the best-selling videogame franchises of all time, welcome to Borderlands.

Plot[]

Onboard a space station, Roland escapes with the prisoners Tina and Krieg.

On Promethea, Atlas CEO Deukalian Atlas hires the bounty hunter Lilith to return to her homeworld of Pandora and rescue Tina, his daughter. Upon arriving on the planet, she meets Claptrap, who has been programmed by an unknown person to help her.

Lilith eventually finds Roland, Krieg, and Tina, and together they narrowly escape the Crimson Lance, Atlas's private army led by Knoxx. They make their way to Sanctuary, where Moxxi points them to the xenoarchaeologist who originally proposed Tina's rescue. This is Tannis, who was given charge of Lilith when her mother died and then handed her over to raiders so she could learn "how to survive."

Tina tells Lilith that she isn't Atlas's daughter, but a clone made from a combination of Eridian blood and his own DNA who was raised in a lab in order to become the "daughter of Eridia" prophesied to be able to open the Vault. Lilith also discovers that Claptrap was programmed to help her by her mother.

All the characters eventually reach the Vault entrance, where it's revealed that Tina has no special abilities and can't access it. Only Lilith can do so, and also she has siren powers. Atlas takes Tina hostage and forces Lilith to bring them inside. Lilith tricks Atlas and leaves him alone in the vault to be devoured by a tentacle monster while she and Tina teleport away.

Fireworks erupt over the city of Sanctuary in celebration. Lilith flies into the air with her magic flaming wings and makes a large firehawk symbol in the sky. Claptrap calls her a show-off and the movie ends.

Cast[]

Cuts[]

The following cast were originally announced, but do not appear in the film's final cut.

Cheyenne Jackson as Wainwright Jakobs^[2]
Charles Babalola as Hammerlock^[2]
Steven Boyer as Scooter^[2]
Ryann Redmond as Ellie^[2]
Hunter Troy Rothwell as Pickle
Penn Jillette as preacher^[3]

Cheyenne Jackson as Wainwright Jakobs^[2]
Charles Babalola as Hammerlock^[2]
Steven Boyer as Scooter^[2]
Ryann Redmond as Ellie^[2]
Hunter Troy Rothwell as Pickle
Penn Jillette as preacher^[3]

Production[]

A film adaptation of the video game series was first announced in August 2015 with Lionsgate developing the project with Ari and Avi Arad of Arad Productions producing.

In February 2020, Eli Roth was attached to direct the film from a screenplay written by Craig Mazin, with Erik Feig joining as producer through his production company Picturestart. Cate Blanchett entered negotiations to play the role of Lilith in May 2020, with Lionsgate confirming she would star later in the month. Kevin Hart was confirmed to play Roland in January 2021.

By February 2021, Jamie Lee Curtis was cast to play Dr. Patricia Tannis, and Jack Black cast to provide the voice of Claptrap.

Filming commenced on April 1, 2021, in Budapest, Hungary^[4], and concluded on June 22nd, 2021.^[5]

In January 2023, it was announced that Tim Miller would step in to direct two weeks of reshoots for the film, with original director Eli Roth's blessing.^[6]

In July 2023, it was reported in World of Reel that the film was in "post-production hell" and that co-writer Craig Mazin had chosen be credited with the pseudonym Joe Crombie.^[7] Mazin later denied to Variety that he was a credited writer for the movie or that Crombie was him.^[8]

Marketing[]

On July 20th, 2023, an official release date of August 9, 2024 was announced on the film's Facebook page.

The film's first trailer was released on February 21, 2024.

Release[]

Borderlands had its world premiere in Los Angeles on August 6, 2024, and was released worldwide on August 9, 2024. The film earned a total of $30.9 million in theaters, versus a production budget of $115 million and an additional $30 million spent on marketing and distribution.^[9]

The film was released to digital streaming on August 30th, 2024, less than one month after its theatrical release.^[10]

Reception[]

Borderlands received overwhelmingly negative reviews.^[11] Rotten Tomatoes's aggregated critic review score is 10%, with a summary reading, "Glitching out in every department, Borderlands is balderdash."^[12]